Shoe bottom finishing machine



June 12, 1934. F. B. KEALL ET AL 1,962,245

SHOE BOTTOM FINISHING MACHINE Fil ed April 6, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 guummn ||||||||l Illllli W //v VE/V TUFS June 12, 1934. F. B. KEALL ET AL 1,962,245

SHOE BOTTOM FINISHING MACHINE Filed April 6, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I @Lmnmh Z16 Z16 B Y W Um h Patented June 12, 1934 UNITED STATES SHOE BOTTOM FINISHING MACHINE Frank Bycroft Keall and Alfred Harrington, Leicester, England, assignors to United Shoe Machinery Gorporation, Paterson, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application April 6, 1931, Serial No. 527,951 In Great Britain April 30, 1930 17 Claims.

This invention relates to machines for finishing the bottoms of boots and shoes and is illustrated herein as being embodied in a machine particularly adapted for scoring or marking the shank portions of boot or shoe soles.

The finishing of a shoe bottom usually includes staining, waxing and polishing. In addition to the above finishing operations, it has been the custom of certain manufacturers to score or indent the shank of a shoe bottom from the heel breast to the vicinity of the ball line after the staining, waxing and polishing operations have been completed. In accordance with the usual practice these scores consist of parallel lines which are spaced approximately onetenth of an inch apart and are disposed substantially at right angles to the median line of the shank. The score lines may extend entirely across the shank or only partially across the shank. In the latter case the lines usually extend from the inner margin of the shank to about its median line.

The scoring operation has been performed by means of a heated hand tool, the operator holding the shoe on a last bottom side up and pushing the tool across the shank or waist of the shoe bottom so as to indent a line or score across the shank. The operation is repeated until a number of parallel scores have been made throughout the length of the shank, the scores being spaced about one-tenth of an inch apart. The hand tool ordinarily used is merely a score blade but sometimes the blade is provided with a guide finger. In the latter case the first score or indentation is made very carefully, the tool being guided merely by the eye, and subsequent scores are made by keeping the guide finger within the next previously made score so that the width between the scores is accurately determined and subsequent scores are parallel to the preceding ones.

In order to insure that score lines made as above described shall be straight and parallel and equally spaced apart, the operator has to v take considerable care and as a consequence the scoring is rather a slow operation and has to be performed by a skilled operator. This method of finishing or ornamenting shoe bottoms is necessarily costly and consequently it has been used in but comparatively few shoe W factories.

An object of this invention is to provide a machine for accurately and expeditiously performing shoe bottom finishing operations such as those above referred to.

' With this object in view a feature of the invention consists in a machine having a marking tool for performing a finishing operation on a bottom, and a work support constructed and arranged to be moved relatively to said tool to position the edge of the shoe bottom relatively to said tool prior to the finishing operation, the tool and the support being mounted for relative movement transversely and longitudinally of a shoe bottom to form parallel marks thereon. As illustrated, the finishing tool consists of a scoring blade which is mounted for movement transversely across the bottom of a shoe which is supported bottom uppermost by the supporting means, and means is provided for advancing the scoring blade in a direction lengthwise of the shoe bottom between successive scoring operations to provide for uniform spacing of the score lines. The illustrated supporting means is pivotally mounted with provision for swinging adjustment within limits arranged to position right and left shoes with the breast line of such shoes parallel to the path of movement of the tool. A gage is provided for assisting in this adjustment. This gage is swung into position so that it contacts with the heel breast of the shoe, and when the shoe has been positioned properly with respect to the path of movement of the operating tool, the gage may be swung back into inoperative position. The illustrated machine is also provided with a gage for limiting the extent of travel of the tool to terminate the marks at substantially the median line of the shank portion of the shoe.

-In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a view in side elevation of a machine embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a view in front elevation of the machine;

Fig. 3 is a detail view in side elevation of the supporting means for the gage which limits the extent of operations of the scoring tool;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the gage illustrating its relation to a shoe which is being scored;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the base of the machine with portions of the machine broken away; and

Fig. 6 is a plan view of a shoe showing indentations or scores extending entirely across the shank or waist portion of the shoe.

The operating and work-supporting parts of the machine are mounted upon a frame 10 which is designed to be placed upon a suitable work bench or table. A base 12, which carries a work support 14, is secured to the frame 10 by means of a vertical stud 16. The base 12 is held against turning about the stud 16 as a result of ordinary thrusts to which it may be subjected in operation by means of a spring 18 which is interposed between the base and a nut 20 threaded upon the upper end of the stud 16, but the base 12 is sufficiently loose to permit the operator to turn the base so as to adjust the position of a shoe supported thereon. The forward portion of the base chine frame 10. Attached to the base 12 are two lugs 26 which carry two adjustable stops 28, one adjacent to each end of the slot adapted to contact with the pin 24. The base 12 may be turned between two extreme positions, one suitable for a right shoe and the other for a left shoe.

Near the left-hand side of the base 12 is a lug 30 to which is pivoted a work-supporting spindle 32 which carries at its upper end a last pin 34. The last pin 34 is removable and last pins having axes at different angles to the general direction of the axis of the spindle may be substituted. The spindle 34 has a lug 36 at its lower end, between which and the base 12 is interposed a strong spring 38 which tends to rotate the support 32 about its pivot in a clockwise direction. The clockwise rotation of the support 32 forces a shoe and last, when placed on the support, to press against a toe rest 40 and holds the shoe firmly in position for the scoring or finishing operation.

t the right of the base 12 there is an upstanding rib or flange 42 having a horizontal slot 44 extending along the greater portion of its length. A bolt 46 passes through the slot 44 and through the toe support 40 to secure together the flange 42 and the toe support. The upper end of the toe support is provided with a yoke 48 which is lined with felt or other suitable material. The lower end of the yoke 48 is provided with a vertical slot 50 through which a bolt 52 is passed to adjustably secure the yoke to the support 40. A nut 54 provided with a handle 56 serves to clamp the parts together in adjusted position.

The scoring or finishing tool and its associated mechanism will now be described. The rear end of the frame 10 is provided with bosses 58 carrying bearings at their upper ends in which is supported a horizontally movable shaft 60. The lefthand end of the shaft 60 is supported directly in the left-hand bearing. The right-hand end of the shaft 60, however, is of reduced diameter and passes through a sleeve 62. The shaft 60 is free to turn but is prevented from axial movement by a collar 64. The outer surface of the sleeve 62 is square and is supported in a similarly aligned bearing on the upper end of the right-hand boss 58. The sleeve 62 and the collar 64 can move longitudinally but the sleeve cannot rotate. On the upper face of the square sleeve is a rack 66 having teeth spaced approximately one-tenth of an inch apart facing toward the left. A pawl 68 is pivoted to the top of the right-hand boss 58 and is spring-urged to engage the teeth on the rack 66. The shaft 60 is normally urged to the left by a tension spring 70 which is connected at one end to the left-hand boss 58 and at the other to an extension 72 formed on the collar 54. The pawl 68 acts to hold the shaft and sleeve in any position according to which tooth is engaged by the pawl 68. The pawl 68 is provided with a tail piece '74 which, upon application of pressure by the operator, acts to lift the pawl 68 out of engagement with the teeth on the sleeve 62, thus permitting the shaft 60 and the sleeve 62 to be moved to the left under the influence of the spring 70.

Fixed to the shaft 60 about midway between its two ends is an arm 76 which extends upwardly and rearwardly and which has a downwardly extending lug 78. The lug 78 has a face which contacts with a face 30 on the frame of the machine. The arm 76 is so balanced that the arm will normally rock until the lug 78 contacts with the face 80 on the machine frame so that the arm' is normally held in its rearmost position. In

order to provide a cushion between the arm 76 and the left-hand boss 58 when the pawl 68 releases the shaft 60 and the shaft is pulled to the left by the spring 70, there is provided a short spiral spring 82 surrounding the shaft between the arm and the left-hand boss 58.

Pivoted at the upper end of the arm 76 upon a laterally extending pivot 82 is a blade carrier 84 which is normally held at an angle of approximately 45 to the horizontal by means of a spring 86 which pulls the blade carrying arm 84 upwardly until a stop thereon contacts with a stop on the arm 76. The free end of the blade carrying arm 84 is provided with an upwardly extending handle 88. The pin 82 projects toward the left from the blade-carrying arm 84 and on this extension is pivoted one end of an arm 90, the arm 90 being capable of both longitudinal and angular adjustment relatively to the pin 82. The arm 90 normally rests against a lateral horizontal bar 92 which is fixed to the arm 76. Fixed to the knife carrying arm 84 is a scoring blade 94 which extends downwardly and forwardly slightly toward the left from the arm 84. The blade 94 is heated by a gas burner 96 which is positioned so as to play a jet upon the shank of the scoring blade 94. The burner is connected by a flexible pipe to a suitable gas supply and a tap 98 is provided whereby the size of the jet may be regulated.

The mechanism for moving the shaft 60 from left to right will now be described. Pivoted to the rear end of the right-hand post 58 upon a horizontal pivot 95 is a bell crank lever 160 having an upwardly extending arm and another arm extending toward the right. To the free end of the upwardly extending arm of the bell crank lever 100 is pivoted a pawl 102 which engages teeth 66 on the square sleeve 62 which surrounds the shaft 60. To the free end of the arm which extends toward the right is pivoted a downwardly extending treadle rod 104 which is normally held upwardly by a spring (not shown) and to the lower end of which is connected a treadle. Two vertical set screws 166, are carried by lugs 108 formed on the right-hand post 58. One of these set screws is adapted to engage the upper surface of the arm of the bell crank lever 100 extending to the right and the other is adapted to engage the lower surface of the arm of the bell crank lever so that adjustment of the two set screws 106 determines the upper and lower positions of the bell crank lever. As above stated the upper end of the upright arm of the bell crank lever 100 has pivoted thereto a pawl 102 which is spring-pressed downwardly into engagement with the teeth on the sleeve 62. The arrangement is such that the pawl 102 is normally held towards the left and upon depression of the treadle the pawl is moved toward the right by an 1 amount equal to the distance between adjacent teeth on the rack 62 carrying with it the sleeve or rack 62 and also the shaft 60 which is fixedly secured to the sleeve 62. On releasing the treadle the pawl 102 slides back over the teeth 66, the sleeve 62 being held in its new position by the pawl 68, and falls in behind the next two toward the left, thus depression of the treadle moves the shaft 60 and the scoring blade 94 toward the right through a distance equal to the length of one tooth on the rack.

The operation of the above-described mechanism is as follows: A shoe, the shank portion of which is to have parallel lines scored thereon, is positioned upon the last pin 34 with the toe end of the shoe engaging the toe rest 40-. The shoewill be caused to rest firmly against the toe. rest by the action of the spiral spring 38. The operator may then adjust the support 12 so that the shoe lies in the desired direction according to whether the shoe is a right or a.- left shoe. The arm 90 is used in this connection and is swung about the pin 82 so that it. engages the breast of. the heel, that is, the side edges of the heel breast are in contact with the arm 90. The shoe is thus positioned so. that the general direction of the scorings or lines which are subsequently to be made across the shank or waist portion of the shoe will be substantially parallel to the general direction of the heel breast. Theoperator then adjusts the scoring or marking blade 94 into position so that it will be as close to. the heel as possible. The scoring blade is then pulled downwardly and forwardly until it is on the forward side of the shank of the shoe. It is to be noted that although the shoe bottom is not fiat the tool will move vertically during'the scoring operation to accommodate itself to the contour of the shoe bottom. The blade 94 is then pushed away from the operator and downwardly so that it makes a score or line across the shank of theheel and finally clears the work. The trea-- dle isthen depressed so that the scoring blade 94 is moved toward the right a distance equal to the distance between two teeth on the sleeve 62. The scoring operation is then repeated. These movements are repeated as often as desired with the result that the shank of the shoe is scored or marked by a number of lines parallel to one another and spaced equidistantly from each other. By providing a number of interchangeable racks having teeth of different spacing, the spacing of the lines may be selected as desired. As a matter of convenience a rack 112 having teeth spaced differently from those of the rack 66 may be provided at the bottom of the sleeve 62 so that, by removing the sleeve 62 and the shaft from their bearings, turning them over and replacing them, differently spaced score marks maybe produced upon the shoe bottom. After the shoe bottom has been scored subsequent finishing operations may be effected in any usual manner.

The above-described mechanism is satisfactory when it is desired to score entirely across the shank portion of a shoe bottom. It is possible, also, by using great care to score or mark only across a portion of the widthwise extent of the shank but it is preferred. to provide additional means in connection with the latter method of scoring. In the illustrated construction these means comprise a bar 114 having an offset portion which is held above the shoe in such a position that it will limit movement of the scoring made across the shank.

The mounting of the bar 114 will now be described. For the sake of convenience it will be assumed that a left shoe is to be scored and the position of the bar in connection with such. scoring will be described. The shoe is placed bottom side up with its heel end toward the left. The inside of the shank will be away from the operator and toward the rear of the machine. The bar 114 will have its offset portion projecting toward the front of the machine. The offset portion of the bar is somewhat longer than the shank of the largest shoe which is to be scored on the machine. The bar extends toward the right beyond the toe support 40 and, at its right-hand end, is approximately parallel to the median line of the shoe. provided with a pair of screws 116 which secure a member 118 to the bar. The free end of the member 118 is covered with rubber to. prevent marking of the surface with which it comes. in contact. By adjusting the screws 116 the member 118 may be pivoted on a projection 120 between the two screws, thus adjusting the member 113 at various angles with respect to the bar 114. The rubber covered portion of the member 118 is adapted to contact with the side face of the heel of a shoe on the support. Adjustment of the position of the member 118 relatively to the bar 114 will, when the rubber covered portion is held against the side of the heel, position the bar correctly across the shank or waist of the shoe.

Extending upwardly from the right-hand side of the toe support 40 is a bracket 122' which is provided with two co-axial, vertical apertures 124. A shaft 126 is located in these apertures for rotary movement and to the upper end of the shaft 126 is fixed a U-shaped yoke 128.. Mounted in hearings in the upper ends of the legs of the yoke 128 is a rocker member which carries a downwardly extending bearing 130 in which is journaled the right-hand end of the bar 114. This end of the bar 114 is slidable in the bearing 130 and may be fixed in adjusted position by means of a knurled set screw 132.

The operation of the machine, when it is desired to score or mark the shank portion of a shoe only part way across the shank will now be described. The member 118 is adjusted until the left-hand end of the bar 114 is in correct position. The bearing 13s is then adjusted until the bar 114. is in the desired position for the particular shoe being operated upon. The scoring blade is then pulled downwardly and forwardly, as described above, until part of the blade strikes and is stopped by the curved bar 114. The scoring blade is then pushed downwardly until it rests upon the shank of the shoe approximately at the median line thereof. The blade is then pushed rearwardly and downwardly so as to make a score from approximately the median line of the shank to the rearward edge thereof.

When the corresponding right shoe is to be operated upon the operator withdraws the bar 114 from the bearing 130 so that the block is offset from the axis of the vertical shaft 126 opposite to what it was for the left shoe. The bar 114 is then replaced in the bearing 130, the scoring blade 94 is then pulled downwardly and forwardly until it is on the forward side of the waist of the shoe and it is then pushed away from the operator so that it makes a score upon the forward edge of the shank to about the median line thereof where it is stopped by the bar 114.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a machine for operating on shoe bottoms, a tool for performing a finishing operation on a shoe bottom, a work support constructed and arranged to be moved relatively to said tool to position the edge of the shoe bottom relatively to said tool prior to the finishing operation, said tool and said support being movable relatively to each other in a direction substantially at right angles to the longitudinal axis of a shoe mounted on the support, and means for effecting relative stepby-step feeding movement between the tool and the support.

2. In a machine for operating on shoe bottoms, a scoring tool for'performing a finishing opera- The left-hand end of the bar 114 isv tion on a shoe bottom, and a work support angularly adjustable relatively to said tool to position a shoe with its bottom edge substantially normal to the path or" movement of the tool, the tool and the Work support being arranged for relative step by step movement longitudinally of the shoe bottom.

3. In a machine for operating on shoe bottoms, a tool movable transversely of the bottom of a shoe mounted on a support to perform a finishing operation on the shoe bottom, a work support adapted to be moved relatively to said tool to position the edge of the shoe bottom substan tially normal to the path of movement of the tool, and means for imparting a relative stepby-step feeding movement between the tool and support in a direction substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the shoe bottom.

4. In a machine for operating on shoe bottoms, a Work support on which a shoe may be mounted in operative relation to a tool, said support being pivotally mounted to position the edge of the shoe bottom substantially normal to the path of movement of the tool, and a tool mounted for angular movement toward the bottom of a shoe mounted on the support, said support and tool being relatively movable in a direction transverse of the shoe bottom whereby the tool is caused to perform a finishing operation on the shoe bottom.

5. In a machine for operating on shoe bottoms, a scoring tool constructed and arranged to produce successive scores on a shoe bottom, said tool being arranged for movement transversely of the shoe bottom, means for supporting a shoe in operative relation to the tool and constructed and arranged to be moved to position the edge of the shoe bottom properly relatively to te path of movement of the tool, and means for effecting a relative step-by-step feeding movement between the tool and the shoe.

6. In a machine for operating on shoe bottoms, means for supporting a shoe, a scoring tool arranged for angular movement toward the supporting means during the scoring operation and movable transversely of the supporting means to score the bottom of a shoe mounted thereon, and means for relatively moving the tool and support to effect a step-by-step feeding movement longitudinally of the shoe bottom.

7. In a machine for operating on shoe bottoms, a scoring tool constructed and arranged to be moved toward a shoe bottom and transversely thereof to form a line on the shoe bottom, said tool being adapted to be moved vertically during the scoring operation, and means for moving the tool step-by-step whereby successive lines are formed on the shoe bottom parallel to each other.

8. In a machine for operating on shoe bottoms, an arm pivotally mounted on machine frame, a scoring tool pivotally secured to the arm, a support on which a shoe is mounted in operative relation to the tool, and means for moving the tool step-by-step whereby successive scores are formed on the shoe bottom.

9. In a machine for operatin on shoe bottoms, a work support pivotally mounted on the machine framo, a gage constructed and arranged to engage the heel breast of a shoe mounted on the support, and a scoring tool constructed and arranged for movement transversely of the shoe bottom and parallel to the gage to form scores on the shoe bottom parallel to the heel breast.

10. In a machine for operating on shot bottoms, a tool for scoring a shoe bottom, a support pivotally mounted on the machine frame, and a gage for engaging the heel breast of a shoe mounted on the support, said gage acting to position the edge of the shoe bottom relatively to the tool to insure that the lines formed by the tool will be substantially normal to the edge of the shoe bottom.

11. In a machine for operating on shoe bottoms, a work support pivotally mounted on the machine frame having a last pin for engaging the heel end of a last and a toe rest for engaging the toe end of a shoe, said last pin and toe rest being movable toward and away from each other to accommodate different sizes of shoes, a tool for forming successive scores transversely of the shoe bottom, and means for relatively moving the tool and the support in a direction substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the shoe to impart a step-by-step feeding movement to the parts.

12. In a machine for operating on shoe bottoms, a work support pivotally mounted on the machine frame, and having means for engaging the heel end of the last and a rest for the toe end of a shoe, a gage for engaging the heel breast of a shoe mounted on the support, and a tool arranged-for movement in a direction parallel to said gage whereby successive scores may be formed in the shoe bottom parallel to the heel breast of the shoe.

13. In a machine for operating upon shoe bottoms, means for supporting a shoe, a tool for performing a finishing operation on the shoe bottom, and means for imparting a step-by-step feeding movement to the tool, said means including a rod on which the tool is mounted, ratchet teeth on the rod, and a pawl carried on one arm or" a lever, rotation of said lever causing the rod to be moved a predetermined amount to place the tool in position for the next sucoeeding operation.

14. In a machine for operating upon shoe bottoms, a tool constructed and arranged to move transversely of a shoe bottom to form successsive scores thereon, and a work support pivoted to position a shoe bottom with the heel breast line of the shoe parallel to the path of travel of the tool.

15. In a machine for operating on shoe bot toms, a scoring tool constructed and arranged to move transversely of the shoe bottom to form successive scores thereon, a pivoted work support, and means to limit pivotal movement of the work support to position the shoe with its heel breast line parallel to the path of movement of the scoring tool.

16. In a machine for operating on shoe bottoms, a work support, a tool movable tranversely of the bottom of a shoe mounted on the support to perform a finishing operation on the shoe bottom, and means for limiting the transverse movement of the tool whereby the finishing operation extends only partially across the transverse extent of the shoe bottom.

17. In a machine for operating on shoe bottoms, a scoring tool constructed and arranged to produce successive scores on a shoe bottom, said tool being arranged for movement transversely of the shoe bottom, means for heating the tool, and means for supporting a shoe in operative relation to the tool.

FRANfi BYCROFT KEALL. ALFRED HARRINGTON. 

